A headline from 1989 sums up what many felt about a man who would endear himself over 35 years in Columbus as a developer, lawyer and community leader: “Mr. Nice Guy.”

Melvin Schottenstein was – and is – viewed as a tireless motivator and problem solver who challenged the status quo without making people mad. Born in Columbus in 1932, Schottenstein would go on to create one of the city’s most prestigious law firms, co-found its most successful homebuilding company and push to create what today is the Columbus Regional Port Authority.

Nearly 20 years after his death at 61 years old, friends and family still speak of him with great affection.

“I still miss him very much, even today,” said Jack Kessler, chairman of the New Albany Co. and a longtime friend.

Robert Schottenstein, CEO of M/I Homes Inc., said he held a meeting not long ago for 70 of his employees just to talk about his uncle, who along with his dad, Irving Schottenstein, founded the company.

“My dad’s fingerprints are all over this place. I wanted to spend some time telling them about Mel,” he said. “Mel was a natural leader who had enormous compassion and concern for Columbus and the community. He was able to use those leadership skills in an almost uncommon way.”

Although born in the city, his family moved to Bellefontaine five years later. He returned to Columbus for college and law school in the 1950s. Schottenstein joined a law firm in 1958 to start his legal career, but two years later was on his own, renting space at 17 S. High St. from a law firm for $60 a month.

In 1962, he and two others formed a partnership that would grow into Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co. LPA. The firm had 89 lawyers by 1989 and 159 at the end of 2010. His introduction to the real estate realm was as a lawyer working on an apartment development project in Dayton for Kessler and Pete Edwards.

Mel and cousin Irving began working together in the early 1960s building townhomes, then apartment complexes such as Wyandotte North and Wyandotte East, condo communities such as Little Turtle and eventually single-family homes.

Robert Schottenstein said in those earlier years, the company was considered cutting edge for amenities such as swimming pools and air conditioners. M/I was officially begun in 1976.

“They would feed off each other,” he said. “They both had tremendous integrity, and that really is the legacy of M/I,” he said. “Their motto was, ‘Do the right thing all the time.’ ”

One could overlook the impact on Columbus those early building efforts by the Schottensteins and others had, said attorney Jay Dingledy, who began working in 1971 for Mel at the law firm, which now is known as Ice Miller LLP. He said they realized the cumulative economic value for the community in providing decent living quarters for young people coming to Columbus for college and staying because of a burgeoning business climate.

“These folks made the (housing) communities attractive … and it’s what drew people together,” Dingledy said, adding the investments had a trickle down effect as well on the lending and insurance sectors. “So there was more of an aggregate of capital and people in the money markets began paying attention to Columbus.”

Kessler said Schottenstein’s leadership was key in creating the Port Authority as an independent body. Schottenstein thought it important for the airport to expand and become more competitive, Kessler said.

“If it were not for Mel, we wouldn’t have the airport that we have today,” he said.

Schottenstein was often at the forefront of business issues that popped up. When he was chairman of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce in the mid-1980s, the organization recruited 1,000 new members; brought the Flying Tigers air cargo company to Rickenbacker Air Industrial Park; successfully lobbied for the development of Interstate 670; and urged creation of a solid waste authority.

“Mel wanted to have the chamber out front and involved with issues that were going to affect the long-term future of the community,” former chamber President John Christie once said.

Schottenstein often took the lead in addressing the needs of the community at large. He was the driving force behind the creation of the Community Shelter Board, which was the first coordinated attempt to address and fund the issue of homelessness in the city.

His son, Eric Schottenstein, said his dad thought business and community went hand-in-hand.

“Dad was such a clear voice and believed you can’t be productive without taking care of the community,” he said. “That clear voice we always heard, you don’t hear it anymore, you don’t see it anymore.”

Craig Lovelace is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Columbus Business First.